Longwood Gardens - Secret and Favorite Spots
Today I went to Longwood Gardens while Dan was working! Because everyone is back to work and school there was nearly no one there. I so enjoyed the loveliness and serenity of the location. Here are some of my favorite spots and sights of the day...
I found this spot behind the fountain garden. Love the ivy growing between the columns.
I found this spot behind the fountain garden. Love the ivy growing between the columns.
My all time favorite romantic spot... the chimes tower and pond! I had been to Longwood a couple times before but never discovered this spot until today because it is tucked back behind the fountain garden.
Rushing waterfall beside the chimes tower.
Entrance to the chimes tower! Reminds me of Rapunzel's tower!
The view from one of the tiny "castle" windows.
The "eye" of water that powers the waterfalls!
This is actually the bathroom hallway in the conservatory! Thought it was so cool that plants grow on the walls indoors!
Crystal chandelier in the conservatory ballroom!
Conservatory falls and flowers...
Had to prove I was really there! I'm so thankful for the pass my parents-in-law gave us for Easter. It pays for itself after only 2 visits. Plus Longwood is too big to see all of in a day, so it's fun to be able to go whenever I feel like it! It's the perfect place for walking (plus it's a super romantic and inspiring date idea!). I discovered some lovely places I never saw before, and I can't wait to see what I find on my next visit!
These little purses and quilted bags were selling for $50-$75! Gave me some fun sewing ideas!
Today is Thrifting Day!!
And look what I found!!
I want to start my ebay costume business up again in preparation for Halloween, and I got the idea of making kids costumes! Some I want to make are Disney Princess dresses, Red Riding Hood costumes, and velvet capes for princes/kings! I picked up a lot of good fabric today at thrift shops as well as some new fall items for myself.
The blue fabric will be perfect for Cinderella dresses! It is a twin sheet that cost $1.99. The white will work for a child or adult Jane Austen style dress. I will probably use the red for Christmas... it's a table cloth that cost $3. And the red velvet on the right should make 3 or 4 very royal looking capes for little boys! It was $5 but was worth it because there is alot of fabric there. I'm telling ya, Salvation Army beats Goodwill on linen/fabric selection and prices.
I want to start my ebay costume business up again in preparation for Halloween, and I got the idea of making kids costumes! Some I want to make are Disney Princess dresses, Red Riding Hood costumes, and velvet capes for princes/kings! I picked up a lot of good fabric today at thrift shops as well as some new fall items for myself.
The blue fabric will be perfect for Cinderella dresses! It is a twin sheet that cost $1.99. The white will work for a child or adult Jane Austen style dress. I will probably use the red for Christmas... it's a table cloth that cost $3. And the red velvet on the right should make 3 or 4 very royal looking capes for little boys! It was $5 but was worth it because there is alot of fabric there. I'm telling ya, Salvation Army beats Goodwill on linen/fabric selection and prices.
I picked up this giant basket from Salvation Army for only .99 cents! Perfect for storing fabric.
Here's a light green purse (looks brand new!) I found for at Goodwill for $4 and barely worn Steve Madden boots for $8! So worth it because those boots new are very expensive.
And 2 pairs of skinny jeans for $8 total!! The lavender pair was 50% off.
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Vacation to Lancaster County, PA!
My husband and I recently enjoyed a 2 day trip to Lancaster County, specifically Churchtown, PA! I had never even heard of Churchtown, but we got a groupon for a very cheap stay at the Inn at Twin Linden, a very luxurious bed and breakfast! I snatched up the groupon and proceeded to schedule a weekend for our trip. We went last weekend and were the only couple staying there at the time so we had the whole place to ourselves!
The bed and breakfast was a 3 floor historic house (very Colonial looking!) with 8 different guest rooms decorated in a lovely country style. Our room was the largest suite with a jacuzzi, small bar area a huge window looking out over miles of farmland!! It was a breathtaking location and I realized during the trip that I am definitely a country girl!
Here are some photos of the Inn...
The bed and breakfast was a 3 floor historic house (very Colonial looking!) with 8 different guest rooms decorated in a lovely country style. Our room was the largest suite with a jacuzzi, small bar area a huge window looking out over miles of farmland!! It was a breathtaking location and I realized during the trip that I am definitely a country girl!
Here are some photos of the Inn...
The view from our suite!! Nothing but farms! So lovely.
Daniel enjoyed some much needed relaxation!
My favorite thing about the Inn was the gorgeous garden in the back yard!! The ground was covered with ivy and different flowers and there were statues, little fountains, and tiny pathways everywhere!
Daniel's favorite spot... the porch swing overlooking the garden. We enjoyed some good conversations there late into the night!
The back patio! So pretty.
Back view of the Inn.
One of the little garden pathways. We spent about an hour in the garden when we first arrived!
Of course I made Daniel take some silly pictures of me!
And we got one nice picture out of it!!!
For dinner we went to the famous Shady Maple Smorgasbord, only a short drive from the Inn at Twin Linden! It was a buffet x 10... I have never seen so many food choices!! We heaped our plates with fresh steak, potatoes, mac and cheese, seafood, and other American/Dutch food! My favorite was the dessert bar, where there was a huge selection of pie, cakes, cheesecakes, and of course an ice cream bar!! We burned off a few calories afterward in the Shady Maple Gift shop, which was practically a Wal-Mart sized gift shop. We only got lost in it 3 times before we found our way to the entrance, where they were giving out free king size chocolate bars! Made my day!
Despite my love for planning activities, I forced myself to not make any plans for this trip other than our stay at Twin Linden. Daniel enjoys vacations much more if we decide on the spur of the moment what to do and where to go, so I decided to try it his way. And we ended up finding more than plenty of fun things to do out in the middle of nowhere! The owners of the Inn recommended some great antique shops, quilt shops, restaurants, etc. One of my favorite finds was a HUGE Mennonite run fabric store where there were literally thousands of different fabrics and notions! And the best part was that most of the fabrics ranged from $1-$3 per yard!!! I was in sewing heaven. We left the shop with a pile of fabric and supplies for less than $20. They also had a giant rack of men's dress shirts for $3 each, so Daniel picked out a few! I will never shop at Joanns again... it will be worth the drive to go to Lancaster's fabric shops!
The next morning we drove to Adamstown, PA, the antique capital of the world! We stopped at various interesting yard sales along the way. I was delighted to find some vintage fabric and try on some fabulous mink coats at one of the antique shops! Daniel found 3 vintage card decks for his collection for only $2 each. After hitting about 5 antique shops we were pooped.
One shop had two rooms full of vintage clothing. If it weren't for the cost, I would have bought every single outfit there!! Most of the vintage gowns ranged from $80-$200 so I wasn't about to spend that. But I enjoyed looking at all the glittery dresses, old shoes and hats, and classy jewelry.
On the way home to DE we stopped at an Amish farm and bought fresh tomatoes, green beans, black berry pie and some home brewed root beer! The teenage Amish boys working at the stand were very friendly and I much enjoyed their accents. I wondered what they thought of my outfit... I felt a bit embarrassed in my tank top and jean shorts when their ladies are clad in long sleeve dresses! I think the Amish are fascinating and inspiring... they take their faith in God so seriously and are incredibly hard workers.
The next morning we drove to Adamstown, PA, the antique capital of the world! We stopped at various interesting yard sales along the way. I was delighted to find some vintage fabric and try on some fabulous mink coats at one of the antique shops! Daniel found 3 vintage card decks for his collection for only $2 each. After hitting about 5 antique shops we were pooped.
One shop had two rooms full of vintage clothing. If it weren't for the cost, I would have bought every single outfit there!! Most of the vintage gowns ranged from $80-$200 so I wasn't about to spend that. But I enjoyed looking at all the glittery dresses, old shoes and hats, and classy jewelry.
On the way home to DE we stopped at an Amish farm and bought fresh tomatoes, green beans, black berry pie and some home brewed root beer! The teenage Amish boys working at the stand were very friendly and I much enjoyed their accents. I wondered what they thought of my outfit... I felt a bit embarrassed in my tank top and jean shorts when their ladies are clad in long sleeve dresses! I think the Amish are fascinating and inspiring... they take their faith in God so seriously and are incredibly hard workers.
Daniel and I took one last walk around the farms behind the Inn. It was the quietest, most relaxing walk I've ever taken, and we stopped to take some photos along the way!! Don't I look like a country girl in my plaid shirt? I just need a cowgirl hat!
A few more fab thrift shop finds...
I managed to talk the hubby into thrifting with me tonight!! (YAY!)
On our 1 other thrifting expedition he was immediately drawn to the vast collection of old artwork and interesting frames. To no surprise, tonight he headed to the giant box filled with random pictures and began rummaging through. He managed to find one a lovely painting set in a rather charming, rustic looking wood frame. A $5 success! We are putting this on the wall of our "green room".
On our 1 other thrifting expedition he was immediately drawn to the vast collection of old artwork and interesting frames. To no surprise, tonight he headed to the giant box filled with random pictures and began rummaging through. He managed to find one a lovely painting set in a rather charming, rustic looking wood frame. A $5 success! We are putting this on the wall of our "green room".
This painting is huge and looks awesome against the light green walls of our spare bedroom!
Upon finding a brand new collection of Alfred Hitchcock movies on VHS, I managed to haggle the clerk down from $10 to only $3 for the 10 movies!!
And lastly, some mini pyrex dishes I got for 50 cents will make cute candle holders for our house warming party this weekend! And I can always reuse them to bake myself a scrumptious tiny dessert sometime!
Today's fabulous Goodwill finds...
On this gorgeous 75 degree day I unpacked my box of summer shoes, most of which I discovered were horribly dirty and worn. Time for some new-ish shoes!! Last week while doing some window shopping I realized the average price for a decent new pair of sandals was around $30!! Not worth it for shoes that will wear out in 1 summer. So it was off to Goodwill.
A lot of the thrift shop shoes I have seen have been dirty, smelly and worn. But there are also a lot of gems among them if you look hard enough... the tricky thing is finding something newer looking that is in your size. Thankfully I wear size 7, which is about average for women. I found two precious mostly new pairs of shoes today and spent a grand total of $8 for the both of them!! Both are adorable, comfy and almost new looking! Now I can face the heat with my tootsies in style (without breaking the bank!).
The white shoes in the picture didn't really look that cute on the rack next to all the other shoes. They looked old fashioned, but I was drawn to the cute little bows on the top. I'm also not a fan of pointy toed shoes on my feet. But when I put these on, they were too cute to resist, not to mention well padded in the soles! These actually slimmed my bony ballerina feet, and the pointy toes weren't as long as some. I can't wait to wear these on Easter!
A lot of the thrift shop shoes I have seen have been dirty, smelly and worn. But there are also a lot of gems among them if you look hard enough... the tricky thing is finding something newer looking that is in your size. Thankfully I wear size 7, which is about average for women. I found two precious mostly new pairs of shoes today and spent a grand total of $8 for the both of them!! Both are adorable, comfy and almost new looking! Now I can face the heat with my tootsies in style (without breaking the bank!).
The white shoes in the picture didn't really look that cute on the rack next to all the other shoes. They looked old fashioned, but I was drawn to the cute little bows on the top. I'm also not a fan of pointy toed shoes on my feet. But when I put these on, they were too cute to resist, not to mention well padded in the soles! These actually slimmed my bony ballerina feet, and the pointy toes weren't as long as some. I can't wait to wear these on Easter!
Painting Fun
Check out some items I recently painted!! The first two are thrift store finds... a $.99 photo frame and a $3.00 wooden shelf. The third is a wood slab I painted to make a cute sign for the front door of our new house!!!
Hoop Art!
I recently bought a bunch of wholesale wooden hoops online and filled them with cute fabric scraps I had around the house!! I am planning to hang them on the wall of my sewing room in our new house!! I can hardly wait to move in and set up our fabulous sewing/office room upstairs in the finished attic room.
Craft of the day... cheap but pretty art!!
Take 1 calendar with photos you like... art, nature, etc. Then pick up some $1 document frames from your local dollar store. Paint them if you want (I didn't paint mine). Cut out calendar photos to fit the frames and you will have some lovely coordinating framed art!
Total cost: $4-$10!!
Total cost: $4-$10!!
Who says art has to be expensive??
Bulletin board I made last night... with cardboard, ribbon, fabric and buttons! Then I glued buttons and seashells to thumb tacks!
Today I made Valentines! I used whatever random craft supplies I could find... scrapbook scissors, paper scraps, old cards (it's so fun to recycle old cards... you can cut the words and pictures out), stickers, glue, markers, etc. I hate to spoil the surprise as some of you will be getting a Valentine from me, but I had to post pictures since they came out so cute!
My first painted furniture piece! This old desk needed sprucing up...
Before:
After:
Here is what I have been up to lately in my spare time!!
1. Organizing my "sewing corner"... I assembled a new shelf from Big Lots so I could neatly arrange my stuff instead of throwing it all in the corner of the living room!
2. Painting things!! Here is a shelf I got at Goodwill. It was a plain, scratchy, brown colored wood until I painted it white with tan accents!
I also painted the inside of my spice cabinet turquoise to add another splash of color. Looks much better than the old brown stain that used to be there. And I did another coat of white so it is less transparent over the original dark brown wood. Painting is fun and I just discovered you can buy whole bottles of acrylic paint at AC Moore for 59 cents each!
How to make pretty and natural beach waves!!
I do this all the time and it works great! You don't even need any gel or hair spray.
1. Dampen hair with water or let hair mostly dry after a shower.
2. French braid hair... two braids makes tighter, smaller waves and one braid will make larger waves.
*Start your braids higher up if you want the waves to start at your scalp, or further down for waves just at the ends of your hair. Make sure you braid all the way down to the ends of the hair! If your hair is thin at the bottoms like mine, fold the end under in the hair tie, creating a tiny "loop" at the end. This will dry and make a wave right at the bottom of your hair.
3. Sleep on hair or let air dry for at least 4 hours. Remove braids, finger comb and you have soft, healthy waves without any heat damage or styling products! Warning... DON'T brush unless you want frizzy 70's hair!
*I do this all the time before bed and in the morning I take out the braids and have gorgeous waves! Sometimes I will french braid my hair before my dance classes and then afterward all I have to do is change and take out my braids for a night out!
My waves in the photo are the result of a "rope" french braid... twisting two strands around my head. See the "wreath" hairstyle below. These waves are a bit more spiral-shaped, where as a regular french braid would come out looking more "crimped". But either way it always comes out looking nice!
If you can't french braid on yourself, just practice! When I was a teenager I spent a long time trying to figure it out. I've found it works best with well brushed, untangled hair that is slightly damp. It takes some practice getting your arms used to being up for a long time while you braid. Here is a tutorial on french braiding your own hair... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egrm8Ylnnx8
1. Dampen hair with water or let hair mostly dry after a shower.
2. French braid hair... two braids makes tighter, smaller waves and one braid will make larger waves.
*Start your braids higher up if you want the waves to start at your scalp, or further down for waves just at the ends of your hair. Make sure you braid all the way down to the ends of the hair! If your hair is thin at the bottoms like mine, fold the end under in the hair tie, creating a tiny "loop" at the end. This will dry and make a wave right at the bottom of your hair.
3. Sleep on hair or let air dry for at least 4 hours. Remove braids, finger comb and you have soft, healthy waves without any heat damage or styling products! Warning... DON'T brush unless you want frizzy 70's hair!
*I do this all the time before bed and in the morning I take out the braids and have gorgeous waves! Sometimes I will french braid my hair before my dance classes and then afterward all I have to do is change and take out my braids for a night out!
My waves in the photo are the result of a "rope" french braid... twisting two strands around my head. See the "wreath" hairstyle below. These waves are a bit more spiral-shaped, where as a regular french braid would come out looking more "crimped". But either way it always comes out looking nice!
If you can't french braid on yourself, just practice! When I was a teenager I spent a long time trying to figure it out. I've found it works best with well brushed, untangled hair that is slightly damp. It takes some practice getting your arms used to being up for a long time while you braid. Here is a tutorial on french braiding your own hair... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egrm8Ylnnx8
Today I was randomly inspired to paint a little spice cabinet we had hanging in our kitchen. Our neighbors were throwing it out and I managed to salvage it. It looked a little old and grimy so I decided a fresh coat of paint might help. I'm quite pleased with the results!
Before photo:
After photo:
*To paint your own spice cabinet, shelf, etc. simply brush with acrylic paint mixed with a bit of water! I had to use about 4 coats of white to cover up the brown underneath.
Also make sure to have some tiny brushes handy for the nooks and crannies! Give the paint plenty of time to dry before you touch or move the object.
Also make sure to have some tiny brushes handy for the nooks and crannies! Give the paint plenty of time to dry before you touch or move the object.
Upside down and sideways braid!!
Twisted braid bun!
I have always loved doing hair so I decided to start posting photos of my favorite and craziest hairstyles! Here is a fun twisty updo I did today...
Also, a hair confession! I have not used shampoo for 3 days!! I am trying to go more healthy and "natural" and have been reading about all the health risks of shampoo and how it actually damages your hair. So I have been washing my hair with baking soda and vinegar... sounds yucky right? But it works and my hair already feels healthier! Not to mention I don't have any yucky buildup on my scalp from shampoo! And after you rinse the vinegar you can't smell it at all!
All I can think of is a line from the Madeline books I used to read as a child... to the lion at the zoo, Madeline said "poo, poo!". And I say "poo poo" to SHAMpoo! Wow, I am so weird and random...
Also, a hair confession! I have not used shampoo for 3 days!! I am trying to go more healthy and "natural" and have been reading about all the health risks of shampoo and how it actually damages your hair. So I have been washing my hair with baking soda and vinegar... sounds yucky right? But it works and my hair already feels healthier! Not to mention I don't have any yucky buildup on my scalp from shampoo! And after you rinse the vinegar you can't smell it at all!
All I can think of is a line from the Madeline books I used to read as a child... to the lion at the zoo, Madeline said "poo, poo!". And I say "poo poo" to SHAMpoo! Wow, I am so weird and random...